The Nation's Capital Begins Here 1791-1793

After the Revolutionary War, the new nation sought a permanent seat of government, and President George Washington favored a 10-mile square territory along the Potomac River that included the important ports of Georgetown and Alexandria. In 1791, the first boundary stone for the federal district, the south cornerstone, was laid on Jones Point. Major Andrew Ellicott directed the D.C. boundary survey from a first base camp at Jones Point, and Benjamin Banneker, a free Black man self-taught in mathematics and astronomy, carried out on-site measurements and round-the-clock astronomical calculations. After the first cornerstone was laid, Ellicott's team spent nearly two years on a 40-mile journey creating the capital's boundary lines by clearing 20 feet of land on each side and setting upright stones at each mile interval. The District of Columbia was incorporated ten years later, Alexandria remained within the capital boundaries until an 1846 Act of Congress returned the land west of the Potomac River to Virginia the following year, and 37 of the original 40 stones survive today in places such as woods, parking lots, and private yards. Although federal buildings were never intended for Alexandria, Pierre L'Enfant, designer of the plan of Washington, hoped to extend the federal city's axial arrangement across the river by placing a majestic column or grand pyramid on Jones Point to complete the vista from the White House.

Alexandria, Virginia · United States